Tonno Will Bring Gloucester a Taste of the North End

Chef Anthony Caturano / Photo Provided

Chef Anthony Caturano’s North End restaurant Prezza has built a reputation on hand-made pasta, wood-fired game, and pristine seafood over 15 years on Fleet Street. This week, the owner announced he is opening a second concept on the North Shore. Tonno—Italian for “tuna,” and also the name of the chef’s boat—is a seafood spot and raw bar that will open in Gloucester.

The menu is based on coastal Italian classics, with dishes like roasted cod oreganata, coppino, octopus salad, and roasted whole branzino on the menu, a press release announced. The oyster bar will focus on “hyper-local” varieties. On Facebook, the new restaurant’s cover photo shows Caturano’s gnocchi.

The bar at Tonno will offer classic Italian cocktails, craft beer, and about 150 wines, mainly from Italy but also from Spain and California.

Caturano’s boat is moored in Gloucester Harbor, and the restaurateur’s father has owned property in the Cape Ann city since the 1980s, the Gloucester Times reported. Tonno is moving into a historic building on the corner of Main and Washington streets in Gloucester’s downtown. Empty since the short-lived Italian concept Giuseppe’s Ristorante shuttered in 2014, the 4,000-square foot restaurant space is best known as the former home of the Blackburn Tavern. Circa 1810, Caturano is planning a full renovation of the space this winter, adding a fireplace, a cocktail lounge, and private events space.

Tonno will seat 99 and offer ocean views, according to the press release. It will open nightly—and year-round—for dinner.

Tonno, coming to 2 Main St., Gloucester spring 2016; facebook.com.